Method for passivating a surface of a semiconductor and related systems

ABSTRACT

A system and a method for passivating a surface of a semiconductor. The method includes providing the surface of the semiconductor to a reaction chamber of a reactor, exposing the surface of the semiconductor to a gas-phase metal containing precursor in the reaction chamber and exposing the surface of the semiconductor to a gas-phase chalcogenide containing precursor. The methods also include passivating the surface of the semiconductor using the gas-phase metal containing precursor and the gas-phase chalcogenide containing precursor to form a passivated surface. The system for passivating a surface of a semiconductor may include a reactor, a metal containing precursor source fluidly coupled to the reactor, and a chalcogenide containing precursor source fluidly couple to the reactor, wherein the metal containing precursor source provides a gas-phase metal containing precursor to a reaction chamber of the reactor, and wherein the chalcogenide containing precursor source provides a gas-phase chalcogenide containing precursor to a reaction chamber of the reactor.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present disclosure generally relates to methods for passivating asurface of a semiconductor and also to systems for passivating a surfaceof a semiconductor.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

High-mobility semiconductors, such as germanium, silicon germanium andcompound semiconductors (e.g., III-V compound semiconductors) may bedesirable to use in the fabrication of semiconductor devices because oftheir relatively high electron and/or hole mobility. Devices formed withhigh-mobility semiconductor materials may theoretically exhibit betterperformance, faster speeds, reduced power consumption, and have higherbreakdown fields compared to similar devices formed with alower-mobility semiconductor, such as silicon.

High-mobility semiconductor material may be used, for example, tofabricate metal oxide field effect (MOSFET) devices. A typical MOSFETdevice includes a source region, a drain region, and a channel region,each formed of a semiconductor material. The MOSFET also includes adielectric material (gate dielectric) and a conductive material (e.g.,metal) overlying the channel region. The dielectric material and theconductive material may be formed by depositing the respective materialsusing vacuum or gas-phase deposition techniques, such as, chemical vapordeposition, plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition, atomic layerdeposition, physical vapor deposition, or the like.

Unfortunately, the interface between the channel region of the device,formed of high-mobility semiconductor materials such as germanium,silicon germanium or III-V semiconductor materials, and the gatedielectric (e.g., high dielectric constant (k) materials) typicallyincludes a large interface trap density (D_(it)). The high D_(it) valuesare thought to result from vacancies and dangling bonds at the surfaceof the high-mobility semiconductor material, and the high D_(it) valuesdeleteriously affect the performance of devices formed with thehigh-mobility materials and provide a technical challenge to thedevelopment of complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) devicesusing such high-mobility semiconductor materials.

Various approaches to passivate a high-mobility semiconductor surfaceprior to dielectric deposition, in order to achieve reduced interfacetrap densities, have been tried. For example, III-V semiconductormaterials passivated with sulfur by immersing the material in wetchemical (NH₄)₂S solutions have shown improved interface properties,resulting in improved device performance. However, the immersion basedpassivation process is difficult to integrate into a vacuum or gas-phasedeposition system used for subsequent dielectric material deposition.Consequently, there is an undesired air exposure time following sulfurpassivation using wet chemical solution techniques and prior to thesubsequent deposition of the dielectric material. This air exposure canseverely affect the device performance, since the passivation layercannot fully prevent oxide regrowth during this exposure, and oxidegrowth on germanium, silicon germanium and III-V semiconductor surfacesgenerally increases D_(it). Additionally, performing solution-basedpassivation at elevated temperatures (e.g., >100° C.) is problematic.

In additional processes, oxide regrowth due to air exposure post etchingof the high-mobility semiconductor surface may be reduced by apassivation process. For example, the passivation process may includeexposing the etched semiconductor surface to a metal containingprecursor, such as trimethylaluminum (TMA). However, such passivationprocesses may be non-ideal as the processes may in general leave adefected semiconductor surface due to incomplete passivation of thesemiconductor surface.

Accordingly, improved methods and systems for passivating a surface of asemiconductor material, and particularly a high-mobility semiconductormaterial, and devices formed using the methods and systems are desired.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

In accordance with at least one embodiment of the disclosure, a methodfor passivating a surface of a semiconductor is disclosed. The methodmay comprise: providing the surface of the semiconductor to a reactionchamber of a reactor and exposing the surface of the semiconductor to agas-phase metal containing precursor in the reaction chamber. The methodmay also comprise: exposing the surface of the semiconductor to agas-phase chalcogenide containing precursor and passivating the surfaceof the semiconductor using the gas-phase metal containing precursor andthe gas-phase chalcogenide containing precursor to form a passivatedsemiconductor surface.

In some embodiments a system for passivating a surface of asemiconductor is disclosed. The system may comprise: a reactor, a metalcontaining precursor source fluidly coupled to the reactor and achalcogenide containing precursor fluidly coupled to the reactor,wherein the metal containing precursor source provides a gas-phase metalcontaining precursor to the reaction chamber of the reactor and whereinthe chalcogenide containing precursor source provides a gas-phasechalcogenide containing precursor to a reaction chamber of the reactor.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES

While the specification concludes with claims particularly pointing outand distinctly claiming what are regarded as embodiments of theinvention, the advantages of embodiments of the disclosure may be morereadily ascertained from the description of certain examples of theembodiments of the disclosure when read in conjunction with theaccompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary system in accordance with variousexemplary embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 2 illustrates an additional exemplary system in accordance withvarious exemplary embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 3 illustrates a process for passivating a semiconductor surface inaccordance with embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 4 illustrates a cross section of a semiconductor structure formedin accordance with the embodiments of the disclosure; and

FIG. 5A, 5B and 5C illustrate capacitance-voltage characteristics ofsemiconductor structures including non-passivated and passivatedhigh-mobility semiconductor surfaces.

It will be appreciated that elements in the figures are illustrated forsimplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. Forexample, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may beexaggerated relative to other elements to help improve understanding ofillustrated embodiments of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

Although certain embodiments and examples are disclosed below, it willbe understood by those in the art that the invention extends beyond thespecifically disclosed embodiments and/or uses of the invention andobvious modifications and equivalents thereof. Thus, it is intended thatthe scope of the invention disclosed should not be limited by theparticular disclosed embodiments described below.

As used herein, the term “surface” may refer to any portion of anexposed semiconductor surface. For example, the surface may be theentire exterior of a semiconductor substrate and/or layer or a portionthereof or a top surface of a semiconductor substrate and/or layerthereon or a portion of either.

As used herein, the term “chalcogenide containing precursor” may referto a precursor containing a chalcogen and a more electropositive elementor radical. A chalcogen is an element from the group VI of the periodictable including oxygen, sulphur, selenium, tellurium and polonium.

As used herein, the term “atomic layer deposition” (ALD) may refer to avapor deposition process in which deposition cycles, preferably aplurality of consecutive deposition cycles, are conducted in a processchamber. Typically, during each cycle the precursor is chemisorbed to adeposition surface (e.g., a substrate surface or a previously depositedunderlying surface such as material from a previous ALD cycle), forminga monolayer or sub-monolayer that does not readily react with additionalprecursor (i.e., a self-limiting reaction). Thereafter, if necessary, areactant (e.g., another precursor or reaction gas) may subsequently beintroduced into the process chamber for use in converting thechemisorbed precursor to the desired material on the deposition surface.Typically, this reactant is capable of further reaction with theprecursor. Further, purging steps may also be utilized during each cycleto remove excess precursor from the process chamber and/or remove excessreactant and/or reaction by products from the process chamber afterconversion of the chemisorbed precursor. Further, the term “atomic layerdeposition” as used herein, is also meant to include processesdesignated by related terms such as, “chemical vapor atomic layerdeposition”, “atomic layer epitaxy” (ALE), molecular beam epitaxy (MBE),gas source MBE, or organometallic MDA, and chemical beam epitaxy whenperformed with alternating pulses of precursor composition(s), reactivegas, and purge (e.g., inert carrier) gas.

As set forth in more detail below, the systems and methods describedherein can be used to passivate a surface of a semiconductor (e.g., ahigh mobility semiconductor, such as germanium (Ge), silicon germanium(SiGe) or III-V semiconductor).

Turning now to FIG. 1, a system 100 for passivating a semiconductorsurface is illustrated. System 100 may comprise a reactor 102 which mayfurther comprise a reaction chamber 103, a substrate holder 104, and agas distribution system 106. The system 100 may also comprise a metalcontaining precursor source 108; a chalcogenide containing precursorsource 107; a carrier or purge gas source 110; and valves 111, 112 and114 interposed between the sources 107, 108, 110 and reactor 102.

Reaction chamber 103 may be a standalone reaction chamber or part of acluster tool. Further, reaction chamber 103 may be dedicated to asurface passivation processes as described herein, or reaction chamber103 may be used for other processes, e.g., for layer deposition and/oretch processing. For example, reaction chamber 103 may comprise areaction chamber typically used for chemical vapor deposition (CVD)and/or atomic layer deposition (ALD) processing, and may also comprisedirect plasma, and/or remote plasma apparatus. Using a plasma during thepassivation process may enhance the reactivity of at least one of thegas-phase metal containing precursor or the gas-phase chalcogenidecontaining precursor. Further reaction chamber 103 may operate under avacuum or near atmospheric pressure. By way of one example, reactionchamber 103 may comprise a reaction chamber suitable for subsequent ALDdeposition of a dielectric material onto substrate 116. An exemplary ALDreaction chamber suitable for system 100 is described in U.S. Pat. No.8,152,922, the contents of which are hereby incorporated herein byreference, to the extent such contents do not conflict with the presentdisclosure.

Substrate holder 104 may be configured to hold substrate or workpiece116, having a semiconductor surface, in place during processing. Inaccordance with various exemplary embodiments, the holder 104 may formpart of a direct plasma circuit. Additionally or alternatively, thesubstrate holder 104 may be heated, cooled, or be at ambient processtemperature during processing.

Although gas distribution system 106 is illustrated in block form, thegas distribution system 106 may be relatively complex and designed tomix vapor (gas) from metal containing precursor source 108, chalcogenidecontaining precursor source 107 and carrier/purge gas from one or moresources, such as gas source 110, prior to distributing the gas mixtureto remainder of reaction chamber 103. Further, system 106 may beconfigured to provide vertical (as illustrated) or horizontal flow ofgases to the semiconductor surface. An exemplary gas distribution systemis described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,152,922.

Metal containing precursor source 108 may be a liquid, solid, or gassource of metal containing material suitable in a passivating processfor passivating a semiconductor surface. If metal containing precursorsource 108 is liquid or solid, the source material may be vaporizedprior to entering the reaction chamber 103. In some embodiment of thedisclosure the gas-phase metal containing precursor may comprise atleast one metalorganic precursor and in further embodiments the at leastone metalorganic precursor may comprise at least one oftrimethylaluminum (TMA), tetrakis(ethylmethylamido)hafnium (TEMAHf),tetrakis(ethylmethlamido)zirconium (TEMAZr),tetrakis(dimethlyamido)titanium (TDMATi), Lanthanum formamidinate(La(FAMD)₃), bis(cyclopentadienyl)Magnesium (Cp₂Mg), orTris(ethylcyclopentadienyl)Yttrium (Y(EtCp)₃.

Chalcogenide containing precursor source 107 may be a liquid, solid, orgas source of chalcogenide containing material suitable in a passivatingprocess for passivating a semiconductor surface. If chalcogenidecontaining precursor source 108 is liquid or solid, the source materialmay be vaporized prior to entering the reaction chamber 103. In someembodiment of the disclosure the gas-phase chalcogenide containingprecursor may comprise at least one pure hydrogen sulfide (H₂S),hydrogen selenide (H₂Se), hydrogen telluride (H₂Te), or gas-phasechalcogenide mixed with H₂.

The metal containing precursor and the chalcogenide containing precursormay be utilized together to passivate a variety of semiconductormaterial surfaces. For example, the precursors may be used to passivatedoped or undoped high mobility semiconductors, such as germanium,silicon germanium, and III-V semiconductors, such as GaAs, InGaAs, otherIII-V semiconductors including Ga and/or As, and other III-V materials(e.g., III-V phosphides and nitrides).

Carrier or purge gas source 110 may include any suitable gas suitablefor mixing with the metal containing precursor 108 and/or thechalcogenide containing precursor 107. Carrier or purge gas source 110may also include any suitable gas suitable for purging reaction chamber103 before, after or during the passivation of the semiconductorsurface. In accordance with exemplary embodiments of the disclosure, apurge gas may be nitrogen, argon, helium, or a combination thereof. Thecarrier gas may also comprise nitrogen, argon, helium, or a combinationthereof.

System 100 may also include a cleaning source 116, which includes solid,liquid or gas phase chemicals to clean the semiconductor surface priorto passivation. For example, the cleaning source 116 may includechemicals, which are gas-phase when entering reaction chamber 103, toremove native oxides from the semiconductor surface. As non-limitingexample embodiments the chemicals suitable for cleaning source 116include hydrogen chloride (HCl), hydrogen fluoride (HF), ammoniumhydroxide (NH₄OH), hydrogen (H₂), and hydrogen plasma.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, sources 107, 108, 110 and 116 are in fluidcommunication with reaction chamber 103 via valves 111, 112, 114 and118, which may be used to control the flow, mixing and distribution ofthe respective source materials to reaction chamber 103 using the supplylines 119, 120, 122 and 124.

In additional embodiments of the disclosure, a system 200 forpassivating a semiconductor surface is illustrated with reference toFIG. 2. The system 200 may be similar to that of system 100 but maycomprise a reactor 202 which may further comprise a reaction chamber103A and a second reaction chamber 103B. In some embodiments, thereactor 202 comprises a cluster tool and although FIG. 2 illustrates areactor 202 comprising two reaction chambers it should be appreciatedthat in some embodiments the reactor 202 may comprise a plurality ofreaction chambers, wherein each reaction chamber comprises a substrateholder 104, and a gas distribution system 106, as previously describedherein. The system 200 may also comprise a metal containing precursorsource 108, a chalcogenide containing precursor source 107, a carrier orpurge gas source 110, and valves 111, 112 and 114 interposed between thesources 107, 108, 110 and the reactor 202.

The system 200 may also comprise a transfer system 204 utilized fortransferring a substrate, e.g., a semiconductor, between the reactionchamber 103A and the second reaction chamber 103B. The transfer system204 may comprise a controlled environment such that the transfer of asubstrate from the reaction chamber 103A to the second reaction chamber103B (and vice versa) may take place without exposure of thesemiconductor to the ambient air.

In some embodiments, the metal containing source 108 and thechalcogenide containing source 107 may be fluidly coupled to the reactor202. In some embodiments, the metal containing source 108 may be fluidlycoupled to the reaction chamber 103A and the second reaction chamber103B, whereas in other embodiments, the metal containing source 108 maybe only fluidly coupled to the reaction chamber 103A. In someembodiments, the chalcogenide containing source 107 may be fluidlycoupled to the reaction chamber 103A and the second reaction chamber103B, whereas in other embodiments, the chalcogenide containing source107 may be only fluidly coupled to the second reaction chamber 103B.

In some embodiments, the reaction chamber 103A may be dedicated tosingle process in the overall passivation process. For example, thereaction chamber 103A may be dedicated to exposing the semiconductorsurface to a gas-phase metal containing precursor, whereas the secondreaction chamber 103B may be dedicated to exposing the semiconductorsurface to a gas-phase chalcogenide containing precursor. It should beappreciated that in some embodiments, the dedicated single processes inreaction chambers 103A and 103B may be reversed. The dedication of asingle reaction chamber to one or more processes in the overallpassivation process may allow for independent process parameters foreach process comprising the overall passivate process, i.e., independentprocess parameters for the reaction chamber 103A and the second reactionchamber 103B. For example, the reaction chamber 103A may be controlledat a first temperature and first pressure whereas the second reactionchamber 103B may be controlled at a second temperature and a secondpressure wherein the first temperature and the second temperature may beequal or different from one another and the first pressure and thesecond pressure may be equal or different from one another.

In some embodiments, reaction chambers 103A and 103 B may be dedicatedto a surface passivation processes as described herein, or reactionchambers 103A and 103B may be used for other processes, e.g., for layerdeposition and/or etch process. For example, reaction chambers 103A and103B may comprise reaction chambers typically used for chemical vapordeposition (CVD) and/or atomic layer deposition processes, as describedherein. In additional embodiments, the system 200 may compriseadditional reaction chambers for performing additional dedicatedprocesses such as deposition and etch process.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, sources 107, 108, 110 and 116 are in fluidcommunication with reactor 202 via valves 111, 112, 114 and 118, whichmay be used to control the flow, mixing and distribution of therespective source materials to reactor chamber 202 using the supplylines 119, 120, 122 and 124.

Embodiments of the disclosure may also include methods for passivating asurface of a semiconductor. In some embodiments, the methods maycomprise providing the surface of the semiconductor to a reactionchamber of a reactor and exposing the surface of the semiconductor to agas-phase metal containing precursor in the reaction chamber. Themethods may also include exposing the surface of the semiconductor to agas-phase chalcogenide containing precursor and passivating the surfaceof the semiconductor using the gas-phase metal containing precursor andthe gas-phase chalcogenide containing precursor to form a passivatedsemiconductor surface.

The methods of the embodiments of the disclosure may be illustrated ingreater detail with reference to process 300 of FIG. 3. The process 300may proceed with block 302 wherein the method comprises providing thesurface of the semiconductor to a reaction chamber of a reactor. Furtherembodiments of the disclosure may comprise selecting the semiconductorto comprise a high mobility semiconductor, wherein the term “highmobility semiconductor” may refer to a semiconductor material whereinthe carrier (either electron or hole) mobility in the high mobilitysemiconductor is greater than the respective carrier mobility in that ofsilicon. In some embodiments methods may comprise selecting the highmobility semiconductor to comprise at least one of silicon germanium,germanium or a III-V semiconductor material.

In some embodiments methods may further comprise, cleaning the surfaceof the semiconductor prior to exposing the semiconductor surface to agas-phase metal containing precursor and a gas-phase chalcogenidecontaining precursor. For example, the semiconductor surface may beexposed to one or more etchants configured to remove the native oxidefrom the surface of the semiconductor. In some embodiments, the cleaningprocess may be performed prior to loading the semiconductor into thereaction chamber in an ex-situ process, whereas in other embodiments thecleaning process may be performed after loading the semiconductor intothe reaction chamber in an in-situ process. As a non-limiting example,the semiconductor may comprise silicon germanium and the cleaningprocess for removing the native oxide from the surface of the silicongermanium may comprise a wet chemical clean in a diluted hydrogenfluoride solution (HF 0.7% with deionized water) for a time period ofsixty seconds at room temperature.

The process 300 may proceed with block 304 which may comprise exposingthe surface of the semiconductor to a gas-phase metal containingprecursor. In more detail, methods may comprise selecting the gas-phasemetal containing precursor to comprise at least one metalorganic and infurther embodiments may comprise selecting the at least one metalorganicprecursor to comprise at least one of trimethylaluminum (TMA),tetrakis(ethylmethylamido)hafnium (TEMAHf),tetrakis(ethylmethlamido)zirconium (TEMAZr) ortetrakis(dimethlyamido)titanium (TDMATi), Lanthanum formamidinate(La(FAMD)₃), bis(cyclopentadienyl) Magnesium (Cp₂Mg), orTris(ethylcyclopentadienyl) Yttrium (Y(EtCp)₃.

Not to be bound by theory, but it is believed that exposing the surfaceof the semiconductor to a gas-phase metal containing precursor maypre-clean any oxide residue on the semiconductor surface and may alsocatalyze a subsequent chalcogenide containing precursor exposed to thesemiconductor surface thereby enhancing the passivation of thesemiconductor surface by the chalcogenide containing precursor.

In some embodiments, during the exposure of the substrate to thegas-phase metal containing precursor, the temperature of the substratemay be controlled to a temperature between approximately 20° C. andapproximately 680° C. The substrate may be exposed to the gas-phasemetal containing precursor for a time period of less than about 60seconds, less than about 30 seconds, or less than about 10 seconds. Inaddition, during the exposure of the substrate to the gas-phase metalcontaining precursor, the reaction chamber may be controlled to apressure of between approximately 1 Torr and approximately 10 Torr.

Upon exposing the substrate to the gas-phase metal containing precursor,methods may further comprise purging the reaction chamber. For example,the reaction chamber may be purged with one of at least nitrogen, argon,helium, or a combination therefore to enable removal of excess gas-phasemetal containing precursor and/or any reaction by products. In someembodiments, the reaction chamber may be purged for time period lessthan 120 seconds.

Methods of passivating a semiconductor surface may continue with block306 wherein the methods comprise exposing the surface of thesemiconductor to a gas-phase chalcogenide containing precursor andpassivating the surface of the semiconductor using the gas-phase metalcontaining precursor and the gas-phase chalcogenide containing precursorto form a passivated semiconductor surface.

In more detail, methods may further comprise selecting the gas-phasechalcogenide containing precursor to comprise at least of pure hydrogensulfide (H₂S), hydrogen selenide (H₂Se), hydrogen telluride (H₂Te) or agas-phase chalcogenide mixed with H₂.

In some embodiments, during the exposure of the substrate to thegas-phase chalcogenide containing precursor, the temperature of thesubstrate may be controlled to a temperature between approximately 200°C. and approximately 680° C. The substrate may be exposed to thegas-phase chalcogenide containing precursor for a time period of lessthan about 10 minutes, less than about 7 minutes, or less than about 5minutes. In addition, during the exposure of the substrate to thegas-phase chalcogenide containing precursor, the reaction chamber may becontrolled to a pressure of between approximately 1 Torr andapproximately 10 Torr.

Upon exposing the substrate to the gas-phase chalcogenide containingprecursor, methods may further comprise purging a reaction chamber. Forexample, the reaction chamber may be purged with one of at leastnitrogen, argon, helium, or a combination therefore to enable removal ofexcess gas-phase chalcogenide containing precursor and/or any reactionby products. In some embodiments, the reaction chamber may purged fortime period less than 5 minutes.

In some embodiments, exposing the surface of the semiconductor to thegas-phase chalcogenide containing precursor may further comprisetransferring the semiconductor to a second reaction chamber prior toexposing the surface of the semiconductor to the gas-phase chalcogenidecontaining precursor. In some embodiments, transferring thesemiconductor from a reaction chamber to a second reaction chamber maytake place without exposure of the semiconductor to ambient air, inother words, embodiments may comprise exposing the surface of thesemiconductor to a gas-phase metal containing precursor in the reactionchamber and exposing the surface of the semiconductor to the gas-phasechalcogenide containing precursor in a second reaction chamber, whereinthe transfer between reaction chambers takes place without exposure ofthe semiconductor to ambient air.

As illustrated in process 300 embodiments may comprise exposing thesurface of the semiconductor to a gas-phase metal containing precursorprior to exposing the surface of the semiconductor to a gas-phasechalcogenide containing precursor. However, it should be appreciatedthat the methods of the disclosure may be reversed and the methods maytherefore comprise exposing the surface of the semiconductor to thegas-phase chalcogenide containing precursor prior to exposing thesurface of the semiconductor to the gas-phase metal containingprecursor. It should be noted that between exposure processes thesemiconductor may be transferred from a reaction chamber to a secondreaction chamber without exposure to ambient air.

In some embodiments, exposing the surface of the semiconductor to agas-phase metal containing precursor and exposing the surface of thesemiconductor to a gas-phase chalcogenide containing precursor may berepeated one or more time. In other embodiments, exposing the surface ofthe semiconductor to a gas-phase chalcogenide containing precursor andexposing the surface of the semiconductor to a gas-phase metalcontaining precursor may be repeated one or more times.

The methods may also comprise depositing a dielectric material on thepassivated semiconductor surface. The methods may also comprisedepositing at least one dielectric material on the passivatedsemiconductor surface. In further embodiments methods may comprisedepositing the dielectric material and exposing the semiconductorsurface to the gas-phase metal containing precursor and the gas-phasechalcogenide containing in the same reaction chamber. In yet furtherembodiments, exposing the semiconductor surface to the gas-phase metalcontaining precursor may be performed in a reaction chamber, exposingthe semiconductor surface to the gas-phase metal containing precursormay be performed in a second reaction chamber and depositing thedielectric material on the passivated semiconductor surface may beformed either in the reaction chamber, the second reaction or anadditional third reaction chamber. If processes are performed inseparate reaction chambers, the reaction chambers may or may not be partof the same cluster tool.

The dielectric material may comprise at least one high-k materialwherein exemplary high-k materials that may be deposited on thepassivated surface may include forms of metallic oxides with dielectricconstant (k values) greater than about 7. Such materials includemagnesium oxide (MgO), aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃), zirconium oxide (ZrO₂),hafnium oxide (HfO₂), hafnium silicon oxide (HfSiO), barium strontiumtitanate (BST), strontium bismuth tantalate (SBT), and lanthanideoxides, oxides of physically stable “rare earth” elements as scandium(Sc), yttrium (Y), lanthanum (La), cerium (Ce), praseodymium (Pr),neodymium (Nd), samarium (Sm), europium (Eu), gadolinium (Gd), terbium(Tb), dysprosium (Dy), holmium (Ho), erbium (Er), thulium (Tm),ytterbium (Yb) and lutetium (Lu).

The embodiments of the invention may also comprise semiconductorstructures formed using the methods of the disclosure. In onenon-limiting example embodiment, the passivated semiconductor surfacemay be utilized in the formation of a transistor gate structure. One ofskill in the art will recognize that the processes described herein areapplicable to many contexts, including fabrication of transistorsincluding planar devices as well as multiple gate transistors, such asFinFETs.

As a non-limiting example, and with reference to FIG. 4, a semiconductorstructure 400 may comprise a semiconductor body 416, a dielectric 412material and a passivated surface 411 disposed there between, whereinpassivated surface 411 comprises a passivated semiconductor surface asformed by the embodiments of the disclosure. In more detail, thesemiconductor structure may comprise a transistor structure and may alsoinclude a source region 402, a drain region 404, and a channel region406 there between, wherein at least the channel region comprises ahigh-mobility semiconductor. A transistor gate structure 408 maycomprise an electrode 410, i.e., a gate electrode, which may beseparated from the channel region 406 by the dielectric material 412(i.e., the gate dielectric). As shown in FIG. 4, in some embodiment thetransistor gate structure 408 may further comprise one or moreadditional conductive layers 414 formed on the gate electrode 410. Theone or more additional conductive layers 414 may comprise at least oneof polysilicon, a refractory metal, a transition metal carbide and atransition metal nitride.

The semiconductor structure 400 may be utilized for determining theinterface trap density (D_(it)) by performing frequency dispersioncapacitance-voltage (C-V) characteristics of the semiconductorstructure. Example C-V dispersion measurements over frequencies rangingfrom 1 KHz to 100 KHz at room temperature are illustrated in FIG. 5,wherein FIG. 5A illustrates data from a high mobility semiconductorsurface treated with only a surface clean, FIG. 5B illustrates data froma high mobility semiconductor surface treated with a surface clean andexposure to gas-phase chalcogenide containing precursor and FIG. 5Cillustrates data from a high mobility semiconductor surfaces treatedwith a surface clean and exposure to both a gas-phase metal containingprecursor and a gas-phase chalcogenide containing precursor, i.e., theprocesses of the current disclosure.

With reference to FIG. 5A, a high mobility semiconductor comprisingsilicon germanium (Si_(0.5)Ge_(0.5)) was deposited over a siliconsubstrate. The native oxide on the Si_(0.5)Ge_(0.5) was removed using adilute HF solution (0.7% HF in deionized wafer) at room temperature forapproximately sixty seconds. The samples were then rinsed with deionizedwater and dried with a nitrogen gun. An ALD Al₂O₃ layer was thendeposited directly onto the Si_(0.5)Ge_(0.5) surface usingtrimethylaluminum (TMA) and H₂O as the precursors, the thickness of theAl₂O₃ layer was between approximately 0.2 nm and approximately 1 nm, andan additional dielectric layer of HfO₂ was deposited on the Al₂O₃ layerusing hafnium chloride (HfCl₄) and H₂O as the precursors, the thicknessof the HfO₂ layer was approximately 2 nm. The D_(it) value was extractedby using conduce method at 300 K (near mid-gap) and provided a D_(it)value of 4.1 e¹³ (/eVcm²).

The data illustrated in FIG. 5B is for the same semiconductor structureand processes as described for FIG. 5A except the Si_(0.5)Ge_(0.5)semiconductor surface was exposed to pure hydrogen sulfide (H₂ 5)(substrate temperature of 400° C., a reaction chamber pressure of 4 Torrfor a time period of 5 minutes) prior to deposition of the dielectriclayers. The D_(it) value was extracted by using conduce method at 300 K(near mid-gap) and gave a reduced D_(it) value of 2.5 e¹²(/eVcm²).

The data illustrated in FIG. 5C is for the same semiconductor structureand processes as described for FIG. 5A except the Si_(0.5)Ge_(0.5)semiconductor surface was passivated by the methods of the embodimentsof the invention prior to the deposition of the dielectric layers. As anon-limiting example the Si_(0.5)Ge_(0.5) surface was first cleaned (asdescribed for FIG. 5A) and then exposed to trimethyaluminum (TMA)(substrate temperature of 300° C., a reaction chamber pressure of 4Torr, for a time period of 10 seconds), the reaction chamber was thenpurged with N₂ for 20 seconds followed by exposure to pure hydrogensulfide (H₂S) (substrate temperature of 400° C., a reaction chamberpressure of 4 Torr for a time period of 5 minutes) the dielectric layerswere then immediately deposited on the Si_(0.5)Ge_(0.5) surface. TheD_(it) value was extracted by using conduce method at 300 K (nearmid-gap) and gave a further reduced D_(it) value of 1.5 e¹²(/eVcm²).Therefore a semiconductor structure formed using the methods of theembodiment of the disclosure may exhibit a D_(it) at midgap of less thanapproximately 1.5 e¹²(/eVcm²).

The example embodiments of the disclosure described above do not limitthe scope of the invention, since these embodiments are merely examplesof the embodiments of the invention, which is defined by the appendedclaims and their legal equivalents. Any equivalent embodiments areintended to be within the scope of this invention. Indeed, variousmodifications of the disclosure , in addition to those shown anddescribed herein, such as alternative useful combination of the elementsdescribed, may become apparent to those skilled in the art from thedescription. Such modifications and embodiments are also intended tofall within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of passivating a surface of asemiconductor, the method comprising: providing the surface of thesemiconductor to a reaction chamber of a reactor; exposing the surfaceof the semiconductor to a gas-phase metal containing precursor in thereaction chamber; exposing the surface of the semiconductor to agas-phase chalcogenide containing precursor; and passivating the surfaceof the semiconductor using the gas-phase metal containing precursor andthe gas-phase chalcogenide containing precursor to form a passivatedsemiconductor surface.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising,exposing the surface of the semiconductor to the gas-phase chalcogenidecontaining precursor in a second reaction chamber.
 3. The method ofclaim 2, wherein exposing the surface of the semiconductor to agas-phase metal containing precursor in the reaction chamber andexposing the surface of the semiconductor to the gas-phase chalcogenidecontaining precursor in a second reaction chamber take place withoutexposure of the semiconductor to ambient air.
 4. The method of claim 1,further comprising, selecting the semiconductor to comprise a highmobility semiconductor comprising at least one of silicon germanium,germanium or a III-V semiconductor material.
 5. The method of claim 1,further comprising selecting the gas-phase metal containing precursor tocomprise at least one metalorganic precursor.
 6. The method of claim 5,further comprising selecting the at least one metalorganic precursor tocomprise at least one of trimethylaluminum (TMA),tetrakis(ethylmethylamido)hafnium (TEMAHf),tetrakis(ethylmethlamido)zirconium (TEMAZr),tetrakis(dimethlyamido)titanium (TDMATi), Lanthanum formamidinate(La(FAMD)₃), bis(cyclopentadienyl) Magnesium (Cp₂Mg) orTris(ethylcyclopentadienyl) Yttrium (Y(EtCp)₃.
 7. The method of claim 1,further comprising selecting the gas-phase chalcogenide containingprecursor to comprise at least one of pure hydrogen sulfide (H₂S),hydrogen selenide (H₂Se), hydrogen telluride (H₂Te), or gas-phasechalcogenide mixed with H₂.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein exposingthe surface of the semiconductor to the gas-phase metal containingprecursor is performed prior to exposing the surface of thesemiconductor to the gas-phase chalcogenide containing precursor.
 9. Themethod of claim 1, wherein exposing the surface of the semiconductor tothe gas-phase chalcogenide containing precursor is performed prior toexposing the surface of the semiconductor to the gas-phase metalcontaining precursor.
 10. The method of claim 1, further comprisingpurging excess precursor after exposing the semiconductor surface toleast one of the gas-phase metal containing precursor and the gas-phasechalcogenide containing precursor.
 11. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising depositing a dielectric material on the passivatedsemiconductor surface.
 12. A semiconductor structure formed using themethod of claim 11, wherein the structure exhibits a D_(it) at midgap ofless than about 1.5 e¹² (/eVcm²).
 13. The method of claim 11, whereinthe depositing of the dielectric material and the exposing ofsemiconductor surface to the gas-phase metal containing precursor andthe gas-phase chalcogenide containing precursor are performed in thesame reactor.
 14. The method of claim 11, wherein depositing adielectric material on the passivated surface further comprises,depositing an aluminum oxide on the passivated surface.
 15. The methodof claim 1 further comprising, cleaning the surface of the semiconductorprior to exposing the semiconductor surface to the gas-phase metalcontaining precursor and the gas-phase chalcogenide containingprecursor.
 16. A system for passivating a surface of a semiconductor,the system comprising: a reactor; a metal containing precursor sourcefluidly coupled to the reactor; and a chalcogenide containing precursorsource fluidly coupled to the reactor; wherein the metal containingprecursor source provides a gas-phase metal containing precursor to areaction chamber of the reactor; and wherein the chalcogenide containingprecursor source provides a gas-phase chalcogenide containing precursorto a reaction chamber of the reactor.
 17. The system of claim 16,wherein the reactor comprises a cluster tool.
 18. The system of claim16, wherein the metal containing source fluidly coupled to the reactoris fluidly coupled to a reaction chamber of the reactor and thechalcogenide containing precursor source fluidly coupled to the reactoris fluidly coupled to a second reaction chamber of the reactor.
 19. Thesystem of claim 16, wherein the metal containing precursor comprises atleast one metalorganic precursor.
 20. The systems of claim 16, whereinthe metalorganic precursor comprise at least one of trimethylaluminum(TMA), tetrakis(ethylmethylamido)hafnium (TEMAHf),tetrakis(ethylmethlamido)zirconium (TEMAZr) ortetrakis(dimethlyamido)titanium (TDMATi), Lanthanum formamidinate(La(FAMD)₃), bis(cyclopentadienyl) Magnesium (Cp₂Mg), orTris(ethylcyclopentadienyl) Yttrium (Y(EtCp)₃.
 21. The system of claim16, wherein the chalcogenide containing precursor comprises at least oneof pure hydrogen sulfide (H₂S), hydrogen selenide (H₂Se) or hydrogentelluride (H₂Te).
 22. The system of claim 16, further comprising acleaning source fluidly coupled to the reactor.
 23. The system of claim22 wherein the cleaning source is selected from the group consisting ofhydrogen chloride (HCl), hydrogen fluoride (HF), ammonium hydroxide(NH₄OH), hydrogen (H₂), and hydrogen plasma.
 24. The system of claim 16wherein the reactor comprises an atomic layer deposition reactionchamber.